Personality dimensions and their relationship with job satisfaction amongst Dutch nurse anaesthetists.

AIM: This study investigates the relationship between personality dimensions and job satisfaction. BACKGROUND: The shortage of nurses, and those voluntarily leaving their jobs, continues to be a problem affecting the delivery of healthcare all over the world, including anaesthesia. If it is found that nurse anaesthetists with certain personality types have high levels of job satisfaction, the information may be helpful for the retention of nurse anaesthetists. METHODS: A questionnaire was distributed amongst Dutch nurse anaesthetists. Factor and multiple regression analyses were performed to reveal personality dimensions and their impact on job satisfaction. RESULTS: Nine hundred and twenty-three questionnaires were completed and analysed (46% response rate). Two personality dimensions -'easy going' and 'orderly'- explained 3.5% of the variance in job satisfaction. CONCLUSION: Personality dimensions as measured with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) are only minimally relevant in predicting job satisfaction amongst Dutch nurse anaesthetists. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Before using personality traits as a selection tool for retaining employees, it is important to understand the relationship of particular personalities to job satisfaction; it is also important to know which combination of personality traits is likely to create a highly cohesive work group.

Burnout, psychosomatic symptoms and job satisfaction among Dutch nurse anaesthetists: a survey.

BACKGROUND: To meet the increasing demand for healthcare providers, it is crucial to recruit and retain more nurse anaesthetists (NAs). The majority of NAs in the Netherlands are >45 years old, and retaining them in their jobs is very important. This study investigates the relationships among burnout, physical health and job satisfaction among Dutch NAs. METHODS: Two thousand NAs working in Dutch hospitals were invited to participate in this online questionnaire. We tested the relationships among burnout, psychosomatic symptoms, sickness absence, perceived general health and job satisfaction. RESULTS: Nine hundred and twenty-three questionnaires were completed and analysed (46% response rate). Burnout and psychosomatic symptoms were negatively associated with job satisfaction, and predicted 27% of job satisfaction. Perceived general health was positively and sickness absence was negatively related to job satisfaction. Older NAs had a higher incidence of burnout than their younger counterparts. CONCLUSIONS: The results confirmed the importance of a healthy psychosocial work environment for promoting job satisfaction. To prevent burnout, further research is necessary to determine the factors causing stress. These findings may also apply to anaesthesiologists who share many tasks and work in close cooperation with NAs.

Exogenous application of platelet-leukocyte gel during open subacromial decompression contributes to improved patient outcome. A prospective randomized double-blind study.

BACKGROUND: Platelet-leukocyte gel (PLG) is being used during various surgical procedures in an attempt to enhance the healing process. We studied the effects of PLG on postoperative recovery of patients undergoing open subacromial decompression (OSD). METHODS: PLG was produced from platelet-leukocyte-rich plasma (P-LRP), prepared from a unit of whole blood. Forty patients were included in the study. Self-assessed evaluations, using the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons scoring system of activities of daily living (ADL), joint instability, pain levels, pain medications, and clinical evaluations for range of motion were conducted. RESULTS: Platelet and leukocyte counts were significantly increased in the P-LRP compared to baseline counts. Treated patients demonstrated decreased visual analog scales for pain and used significantly less pain medication, had an improved range of motion during passive forward elevation, external rotation, external rotation with arm at 90 degrees abduction, internal rotation, and cross body adduction compared to control patients (p < 0.001). No differences in the instability score were observed between the groups. Furthermore, treated patients performed more ADL (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: In the PLG-treated group, recovery was faster and patients returned earlier to daily activities and also took less pain medication than control subjects.

Discriminating work context factors in the working environment of Dutch nurse anesthetists.

With an ever increasing number of patients and more demanding health care system it is important to keep nurse anesthetists as mentally and physically fit as possible. Especially with a shortage of nurse anesthetists it is important to know which work context factors are important for maintaining a healthy balance between the nurse anesthetist and his work environment. This study is the first to determine which work context factors of nurse anesthetists are most relevant for a healthy work environment. A questionnaire survey, containing work related items, was distributed among all nurse anesthetists working in Dutch hospitals. All together 882 questionnaires (response rate 44%) were completed and analyzed, including factor analysis for the discriminating work context factors. Four discriminating work context factors (career/rewards, relation with supervisor, task contents and social environment) were found to be relevant, explaining 48% of the variance in work context. All four work context factors are considered to be job resources, although not hospital related. Supervisors (head nurses) interpret these work context factors differently from nurse anesthetists, which can result in dissatisfaction of the latter group. Nurse anesthetists participate more in sub-functions and activities in larger peripheral and academic anesthesia departments. Smaller anesthesia departments require nurse anesthetists to be more flexible and perform many different functions within the anesthesia domain.

Platelet gel and fibrin sealant reduce allogeneic blood transfusions in total knee arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND: Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is often associated with a considerable amount of post-operative blood loss, necessitating the transfusion of allogeneic blood, which can add to the complications. Optimization of strategies to reduce the need for blood transfusion is desired. This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy of autologous platelet gel and fibrin sealant in unilateral TKA. METHODS: Consecutive patients were operated on and assigned to the study and control groups. Study group patients (n = 85) were operated on according to our standard TKA protocol, with the application of autologous platelet gel and fibrin sealant on the wound tissues at the end of surgery. Eighty patients were operated on according to the same protocol, but without the use of platelet gel and fibrin sealant, and served as the control group. All blood transfusions, occurrence of wound leakage, wound healing disturbances and incidences of post-operative infections were recorded. RESULTS: Patients in the treatment group had a significantly higher post-operative haemoglobin level (11.3 vs. 8.9 g/dl, respectively) and a decreased need for allogeneic blood products (0.17 vs. 0.52 units, respectively) than those in the control group (P < 0.001). The incidences of wound leakage and wound healing disturbance were significantly less (P < 0.001) in patients managed with platelet gel and fibrin sealant. Four patients in the control group, who received blood products, developed wound infection. The hospital stay was decreased by 1.4 +/- 1.5 days for patients in the treatment group (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Peri-operatively applied platelet gel and fibrin sealant may reduce the incidence of allogeneic blood transfusions and complications associated with TKA.

Impact of closed versus open venous reservoirs on patient outcomes in isolated coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

Data were collected retrospectively on 1,681 consecutive isolated coronary artery bypass graft patients at Millard Fillmore Hospital (Buffalo, New York, USA) undergoing coronary artery bypass. No patients were excluded. There were 616 patients in the open circuit group and 1,065 in the closed circuit group. Patients in the closed circuit group exhibited a trend towards a higher incidence of most pre-existing comorbidities, with acute myocardial infarction, pre-existing cerebrovascular disease and the incidence of extensively calcified aortas all being significantly higher. Significantly different postbypass outcomes favored the closed circuit group, with levels of sepsis of 1% for open and 0% for closed and respiratory failure of 4% for open and 1% for closed. The length of stay approached significance with a p-value of 0.057 (open 9.85 days and closed 7.53). Use of an open circuit was a significant, independent predictor for increased use of units of packed red blood cells and total units of blood products. This study provides evidence that closed venous reservoirs can favorably impact surgical outcomes and reduce resulting healthcare costs.

Clinical outcomes after ablation and pacing therapy for atrial fibrillation : a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Radiofrequency ablation of the atrioventricular node and permanent pacing are used for symptomatic relief in patients with medically refractory atrial fibrillation. In this study, meta-analysis was used to clarify clinical outcomes and survival after ablation and pacing therapy using data from the published literature. METHODS AND RESULTS: We used 21 studies with a total of 1181 patients in the meta-analysis. All patients had medically refractory atrial tachyarrhythmias, primarily atrial fibrillation (97%). Nineteen measures of clinical outcome, encompassing quality of life, ventricular function, exercise duration, and healthcare use, were derived from the studies. The meta-analysis demonstrated significant improvement after ablation and pacing therapy in all outcome measures except fractional shortening, which demonstrated a trend toward improvement (P=0.08). Ejection fraction did show significant improvement (P<0.001). The calculated 1-year total and sudden death mortality rates after ablation and pacing therapy were 6.3% and 2.0%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Ablation and pacing therapy improves a broad range of clinical outcomes for patients with medically refractory atrial fibrillation. The calculated 1-year mortality rates after this therapy are low and comparable with medical therapy.